


born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining

by jolybird



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animals in Danger, F/M, Llamas, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-06-28 03:36:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15699354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolybird/pseuds/jolybird
Summary: A misstep in the Argentinian Mountains puts Luna's life in danger and sends Rolf off on a desperate bid to find the help she needs to survive.





	born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining

**Author's Note:**

> Written for hp_drizzle 2018. This is one of my favorite fests period because it's so fun to use the weather for the plot. And I like writing rain apparently?? Thanks to the mods for hosting and B for the beta! <3

It was surprisingly easy to break into the Ministry of Magic. 

In fact, it was less ‘breaking in’ and more ‘running straight through the door on Barton Street  and into the lift without anyone batting an eye.” Rolf didn’t know where the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was but if he rode the lift long enough, one of the floors would eventually announce itself as the one he was looking for. 

Right now he was on the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. It was unnervingly quiet until the doors started to close and a door down the hall was thrown open with a shout and a witch raced down the hall, her heels matching the clicking of the doors. 

Rolf shifted from one foot to another, his heart in his throat. He hadn’t traveled so far to be trapped in the lift. 

“Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures,” the chipper little lift voice announced and Rolf smashed his entire left side into the doors as he squeezed out. 

There were several house elf's judging him from a small waiting room to his right but he had his eyes on a set of offices down the hall and he ran towards them. None of the names were the one he was looking for--Merlin’s sake where had the Ministry stuck her?

Turned the corner and then slipped and came to a stop on the ground. He was soaking wet and, really, he deserved that for not taking the time to cast a drying spell. 

Time. Which he didn’t have much of. 

Rolf pushed himself to his feet and went back to the room where he had seen the small sign “ _ Hermione Granger.”  _ Thank god. 

He skidded and crashed into the door frame and the pushed himself into the office. “Hermione Granger,” he all but shouted and the receptionist, who was half slouched over a letter at least half a kilometer long, just pointed to a door to her right. Rolf threw the door open and saw first the purple parchment Luna tended to write her article drafts on and then Hermione was on her feet. 

“Rolf Scamander. What’s happened.” She looked him up and down and then charmed him dry with a flick of her wand. 

For a moment, he truly thought he was going to be sick. Then he got control of himself. “There’s ice in Luna’s veins and she doesn’t have much time.” 

Her face dropped and she spun and began grabbing seemingly random items from her desk. “Where is she? Saint Mungo’s?”

“Oh you’re not going to like this--” Rolf breathed as Hermione started throwing things into her bag. 

She paused for a second and then tipped half the contents of her desk into the bag with one fell swoop of her wand, “Oh I’m going to kill her.” 

“I couldn’t get her to leave them--”

“Hikari--” Hermione shouted, “call Harry and Ron--tell them it’s an emergency and I need backup. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” The witch at the desk dropped the parchment and ran to the fireplace. 

They raced down the hall, past a particularly affronted looking wizard who was drying up the mess Rolf had left in his wake. Hermione’s bag made an uncomfortably deep sound as it bumped into the lift door. 

“Ground floor.” Hermione snapped to the lift and then with the same breath, turned to him, “how far is she?” 

“South America. Penguins.”

“Penguins?” Hermione asked shrilly, “Do you mean-- Palaeeudyptes ?”

They rode the lift in silence for a heartbeat and then Rolf shook his head, “No, she wanted to see penguins. I thought it was going to be— _ penguins _ .” 

Hermione gripped her bag tight and turned to stare straight ahead, “We’ll take turns  apparating . Harry and Ron will catch up with us.”

“How will they—“ Rolf began but they reached the  apparition  area and Hermione pulled him halfway across England. Rolf drew in a breath and shook his head, “you know what, I’m not going to question it.”

He took another breath and then took her to Wales. They landed at the MagiCustoms Office desk and they both all but threw their wands at the poor wizard on duty. 

“Afternoon Colin.” Rolf said, already taking his wand back. 

“You’re pre-cleared for Falcarragh, Vik, Paamiut, and St. John’s where Nance is throwing a fit about you splinching yourself in your hurry.” 

Colin, who had gone to Hogwarts with him, had been shouted at not ten minutes previous that Rolf was going to be back and he was in a hurry  _ so any help would be appreciated _ . “I owe you a drink.” 

“You owe me two already but who’s counting.” He handed Hermione back her wand, “please be careful.” 

Rolf nodded and then they were in Ireland. 

He made it all the way to Costa Rica before he was sick all over the shoes of a customs agent who just sighed, “ pinche pendejo, I told you this would happen.” 

Hermione, who was also looking a little green but wore it better, vanished the mess, smiled politely and then pulled him to the next checkpoint, “do you know every customs agent?” 

“I follow Luna everywhere.” 

Hermione smiled warmly and didn’t say another word until they were in Argentina on the mountainside in the rainstorm Rolf had left Luna in. 

Her shield had fallen and Luna was sitting in the mud completely soaking wet. He was gone too long. He should have never left but he couldn’t conjure a patronus and wizards were absolutely bollocks with communication. He was getting a muggle phone. He was getting them all muggle phones.

“Hermione!” Luna called, her smile at odds with the pitiful noises coming from the guanaco that was laying with its head against her knees. The rest of the herd was around them, grazing apprehensively. One of the younger ones brushed against Rolf and, honestly, this was a sign they were camping out on this mountainside too long. They should have stuck to the beaches and the penguins like they planned. 

Hermione ran from Ralph’s side and dropped next to her, she placed her hand on her wrist and then on her chest, “Look at me--how do you feel?” 

“Quit chilly and wet but he’s so afraid--look at him first.” 

The guanaco in her lap was the dominant male and he wasn’t doing too good at all. 

Hermione’s face soured and she delicately lifted her hands to hover over the creature. Rolf himself wasn’t a very big fan of llamas but Luna loved the guanaco herd that nearly took out their tent the other night so much, they had to save him. Glancing back to him, she drew in a breath, squared her shoulder and turned to the creature. 

Rolf knelt next to Luna in the rain, her wand was useless at her side so he pocketed it and then held her hand tightly. It was ice. He glanced to Hermione who swore when she caught his eye. 

Gingerly, she ran her wand over the creature whispering spells under her breath. 

“How are you?” Rolf asked, the rain did nothing to break the heat. He needed to transfer some of the heat to Luna, who only smiled in response and scratched the guanaco behind its ear. It whimpered. 

“I’m going to get--” 

There was shouting from somewhere in the distance, swearing and calling all at once and Ralph held her tighter, “I was over by the tent and Luna was here with the male--this guy--and then there was a flash of light. We didn’t think anything of it until Loons started complaining about the cold--which--” he waved his free hand to indicate the humid downpour around them. 

“It’s the same spell on the both of you. Possibly some kind of trap?” 

“They were walking in the same area--one of them must have triggered it and activated it.” Rolf glanced to Luna who hadn’t said anything for several minutes and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She was freezing and shivering violently but she still smiled and gave a half shrug. 

“Why on earth are you all in the rain?” Ginny Weasley called right before someone who must have been Ron casted a repellant charm into the sky above them. He really didn’t want to meet Ron and Hermione like this. He had had dinner with Harry and Ginny at the flat a couple times but never the pair of them. He and Luna were knee deep in researching his granddad’s new book they just never had time. 

“Rolf--” Luna said, faintly but determinedly. “Your frightening him.” 

“I’m sorry.” Rolf ran his hand up and down her shivering arm, “what can I do to help?” 

Ginny cast a drying spell over all of them right as Hermione shouted “ _ Corglaciei _ .” 

“What--” Ron whispered but he was already being nudged by some of the smaller guanaco so his attention was quickly diverted. 

“Bag--my bag--that’s what this spell is. It turns the blood in your veins to ice and it finds its way to your heart.” 

Ginny reached into Hermione's bag--and the kept reaching--she was shoulder deep in the bag and then she pulled out a thick book that she tossed at Rolf who only just caught it. Seeing as they were in mud, and seeing that this was _Hermione Granger’s_ _book_ , he wasn’t too enthusiastic of the situation. 

“Oh don’t worry about the book--” Hermione snapped, slamming another book into the mud in front of her, “we just have to find the counter spell. Corglaciei. It was used during the civil war--”

Rolf, one arm still wrapped tight around Luna, began flipping through the book. Ron knelt next to him, “you’re a wizard, aren’t you?” ‘

“You’re one to talk Ron.” Ginny snapped but Ron just pointed his wand at the book and the pages moved on their own. They fell open to the chapter on the Corglaciei spell. 

“Here--” Rolf whispered, he was shaking as well and he didn’t know if it was being he was terrified at how quiet and cold Luna was getting or if it was just her shivering passing through him.” 

They crowded around the book for a moment and then they broke apart. Rolf and Ron were focused on Luna while Hermione and Ginny concentrated on the guanaco. Should they name it? 

Rolf gripped his wand tighter and then they all got to work. 

Their biggest concern was timing. They had to be quick they had to stay on pace. 

They were taking a single spell off both an animal and an incredibly lovely human and, honestly, Rolf was still apparation-sick. They were taking the long way home, he didn’t care how much longer it took. 

He was so concentrated on the steady blue stream of magic that was wrapping itself around Luna and the guanaco, tracing their veins and the ice, that when the guanaco suddenly got to its feet and stomped around, he was nearly trampled.

Ron and Ginny pulled him back, both shaking with relieved laughter. 

“You did it--look at him.” 

“Luna don’t you dare--” Ginny began but she stopped speaking as Rolf lunged forward, grabbed Luna and kissed her right there in the middle of the rainstorm, surrounded by her friends, one of whom he had just kidnapped from her office halfway across the world, and a herd of guanaco. 

“Oh--” Luna breathed as she pulled away, “I’m sorry for worrying you.” 

“I--I actually have to go lay down.” Rolf sighed and then hurried out from under Ron’s spell into the rain back towards their tent. 

He hadn’t meant to kiss her--or, he did--he just hadn’t meant to kiss her then, under those circumstances without talking it through first. Also--maybe he  _ had _ splinched himself somewhere along the way?

“Alright--” Hermione said, pushing past the tent flap, “let’s see you.” 

Rolf protested that he was fine but she bullied him onto one of the beds and poked and prodded at him as the others came into the tent. One of the lights kept flickering on and off in time with Ron’s playing with some weird sort of lighter. Ginny swatted at him. 

“I’m buying everyone muggle phones.” Rolf announced to the room. 

“I like him.” Ron told Luna in exactly the same tone. 

“Yes, I think I’ll keep him around,” she smiled, “hot cocoa? We should take advantage of us all being here together. Will Harry be joining us?” 

Ron and Ginny both got very still and then they ran out of the tent. There was a shimmery blue light and then they both returned. “Hikari told us you were in trouble while he was in the shower--we just--we left him.” 

Rolf snorted and then he laughed, Ron echoed it along with Ginny but Hermione just rolled her eyes. 

“Poor Harry, I’ll take a mug out for him as well, just in case he decides to come.” Luna handed out the cocoa and then came to sit next to Rolf on the bed. She paused for a moment and then she kissed his cheek. “Because I know you’re wondering,” Luna said loudly and both Ron and Ginny pretended to be looking everywhere but at them, “yes this is new.”

Ron leaned against the table, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not surprised.” 

“I haven’t met you before today.” 

“Luna talks about you all the time.” 

Rolf looked next to him to see Luna blushing slightly, “Oh, Ronald.” 

Hermione threw herself down into one of the plush chairs, “aren’t we a little too old for this? Haven’t we all quit grown out of these kind of messes.” 

“I don’t think this is something we’re ever going to outgrow.” Luna told her truthfully and Hermione sighed loudly but smiled. 

“It is nice to finally meet you, Rolf Scamander,” Hermione smiled, “Ron was right, Luna’s told us all about you.” 

“Hermione!” she whispered and then took a long sip of her cocoa to avoid looking at anyone. Rolf wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into him but she didn’t emerge from her mug. 

Ginny leaned forward in her seat, “Well--come on, tell us about this trip we’re crashing. What have you found so far?” 

That made Luna surface again--with eyes shining she launched into a tale and Rolf just sat back to enjoy her glow. 

**Author's Note:**

> Harry and Neville show up in the middle of the night and can't reach them because the herd has encircled the tent and so Harry proceeds to scare the life out of poor Rolf who just want to get some rest by waking him up with a giant glowing stag at the foot of his bed. There's more cocoa and they all call in sick the next two days so they can have mini vacation.


End file.
